The Moon
by Meridiean
Summary: A short multi-chapter TB finale rewrite set starting the night of the Thanksgiving gathering in Sookie's yard. Things aren't as fine and dandy as the fuck-ups at TB wanted to brainwash us into thinking they are, but at least Beehl's still goo. This is naturally going to be AU, OC, and whatever other abbreviations you want to use. And of course, an E/S HEA is the mission.
1. Chapter 1

Head bowed with his forehead resting on the wood, Eric paused before opening the door to leave his office. Another night wasted sitting on that damn throne staring out at that same damn crowd of vermin.. Another night…alone.

Tired. He was so damn tired.

As the minutes ticked by he knew that even now, almost 4 and a half years…later, his wealth was increasing exponentially with the new blood, but he couldn't care less.

It just didn't matter anymore.

Nothing did.

Impulsively deciding to turn left instead of right, he quickly exited the bar reeking of desperation and despair, much of it his own, and once outside he flew up to the top of Fangtasia. No one, not even Pam, knew of the 'oasis of solitude' he had created up there out of a lawn chair and nothing else.

He'd thought the irony of glamouring and releasing the Newlin woman on Thanksgiving night would have made him feel…something, but other than having a vague sense that Godric would have approved, there was…nothing.

Pam was livid, of course, but that was her problem. She'd kept trying to talk him in to letting her _truly_ pimp out Sarah, but he felt that letting vampires feed on her for the cure to the disease she'd helped create was punishment enough. She'd served her sentence and it was time for her and her annoying voice to go.

Reclining in the chair aligned for the best view of the risen moon, he sighed as he focused on the glowing light. As he lost himself in the memories from several years back, he crossed his arms and let the pale, lonely orb above him blur into a softer, sweeter pain.

On this night he was thankful for the moon. It wasn't his chosen company, but as it was, it was the only company he could choose.

**•~•0•~•**

Several miles and a few light-years away, Sookie made the rounds with her pitcher, making sure that everyone had what they wanted to drink. Even almost nine months' pregnant she still found herself playing the waitress, serving others no matter that her back and feet ached and she already had to pee again.

Keeping her fake smile up for the sake of all her guests, she finally made it to her seat and gratefully plopped down. She aimed that same fake smile at Steve sitting at the head of the table as if he had done anything to deserve the honor. He was ok, she guessed. Even less considerate than Alcide and Bill, still, he tried…just, not very hard. She rubbed her stomach as she felt the baby kick, and realized that she wasn't actually thankful for all that much. The baby was healthy and strong, but that was about it.

A twinkling in the sky drew her attention and her eyes immediately caught sight of the moon. While she had always loved the sun's warmth and light and always would, lately she'd been more and more drawn to the moon and all it represented. Somehow here lately the moon felt more comforting, more understanding.

She sighed. She had no idea how much longer she could continue on with the way things were. As she listened to the conversations going on around her, she realized that none of them were really directed toward _her_.

Sure, all these people had come over to her place to celebrate Thanksgiving in the company of friends, but really all they did was come to eat her food, drink her New Blood, and talk to each other.

Surrounded as she was by family and friends, she'd never felt so alone.

Giving up on picking at the food on her plate, she once again returned her gaze to the moon looking gently down upon her, and felt the tears prickling at her eyes.

Again.

Sookie quickly excused herself from the table and hauled her gravid body back into the house. Knowing that everyone automatically expected her to be going to the bathroom, she went on in and locked the door behind herself. The second the lock snicked, the tears she'd been holding back for the past several years came pouring out.


	2. Chapter 2

****A/N: Thank you for your support – it's been overwhelming and totally awesome! :D Now, on with the story!****

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Willa waited for a few minutes to see if any of Sookie's guests would go check on her, but when none of those so-called friends even noticed that she was gone, she shook her head. _They sure didn't mind stuffing her food down their faces, though_. She rose and went to check on Sookie herself. _Couldn't they tell she was upset?_

The selfishness of most people, be they human, Were, shifter, or vampire, never ceased to amaze her. Early in her life she'd realized that while her family loved her, that love came with conditions. She hated having to act as if she bought into the family bigotry, but so long as she did, things were more or less fine. As time went on, she was often the means to an end, too. While her family was never so crass as to prostitute her body, they did often 'prostitute' her smile and congenial nature during fund-raisers and other political events to lure in the support they wanted from older well-established male constituents. There toward the end, though, she couldn't even _act_ the part any more.

At first Eric had been a godsend. He was tall, gorgeous, and courageous, his presence carried for miles…and he was a _vampire_. But before too long, even his 'love' had proven conditional. When he had no further use for her, he had abandoned her as if she had never existed.

Maybe that was why she cared about Sookie. In a way, they'd both felt dumped by Eric. Sookie might be right in thinking that had never been his intention, that he hadn't meant to make his own child feel abandoned, but he had.

Several years ago, not too long after Bill had finally died his protracted death, she'd run into the telepath at the new gas station in Bon Temps. They had both arrived at the New Blood display at the same time, and had struck up a conversation. She figured that Sookie must have felt sorry for her when she invited her over to the farmhouse for a small get together with Jessica and Hoyt that evening – no doubt she'd looked as pitiful as she'd felt that night.

Not having anything better to do, Willa had followed the blonde back to her house. She was curious about the woman Eric had been so crazy over, and Pam had been so jealous of, and it wasn't as if she had anything better to do. Looking back over everything that had passed since then, she realized that was one of the best decisions of her life, dead or not.

Sookie never asked her for anything except honesty, never pressured her to do anything on her behalf, and in fact was an excellent listener. When she gave advice, it was with Willa's best interest at heart.

At some point Willa had started feeling a bit bad about how she'd treated Eric. She was still very pissed at him for abandoning her so soon after he'd Turned her but eventually curiosity had her asking Sookie about him. The blonde had cried _with_ her the night that she had told her about Eric releasing her. Willa was still furious with the tall blond Viking for only Turning her to piss off her father, no matter what he had said when he officially let her go, and she was grateful to Sookie for understanding _that_ even while encouraging her to at least have some sort of contact with him if that was what she wanted.

Even though he had released her, she still felt a strange pull to him, but figured it must be some sort of an ingrained-in-the-blood pull toward her Maker, some weird part of that Maker/child thing he never bothered explaining to her.

With Sookie's support, she had finally taken the step one night to call the Big Bossy Blond himself, and was gratified by how he had immediately asked if she needed anything, clearly going with the assumption that his "ex-child" was in trouble and needed help that he was obviously quite willing to give. He had seemed very pleased to discover that she was only calling to…talk. They had spoken on the phone a couple of times now, and while the conversations still weren't anywhere near casual, they were oddly…comforting. She just excused it as a remnant of that Maker/child thing.

Less than three steps away from the table, she could clearly hear Sookie's quiet sobs.

This wasn't good.

She vamped to the closed bathroom door and knocked softly.

"Sookie? Sookie, are you ok?"

_Fuck_, she cursed to herself, _of course she's not ok._

"Sookie, can you let me in? It's Willa." She leaned her head against the old door and waited. Finally she heard Sookie blow her nose and give a muffled reply. Eventually she heard the toilet flush, too, and smiled a little. She felt bad for the heavily pregnant woman who could never be more than 50 feet away from a bathroom now.

When Sookie opened the door, Willa carefully wrapped her arms around the still obviously distraught woman and hugged her.

"What's wrong? And don't give me that 'I'm just being a preggo' nonsense."

Sookie laughed once, then started crying again. She gasped when Willa effortlessly hauled her up in her arms and walked carefully toward her bedroom.

"First of all let's get you off those swollen feet, then we're going to talk. You've helped me, now it's my turn to help you."

Sookie felt strange being carried by someone smaller, and much lighter, than herself, but was glad to be off her feet. All the cooking and baking she'd had to do the last two days had a lot harder on her than she'd told anyone.

Once ensconced on her bed, in between hiccuping sobs and mopping her face, she told Willa about how things really were with Steve. When she first met him, she wasn't sure what he was, but she couldn't hear his thoughts very often at all. Mostly what she heard from him could best be described as an echo of nothing, and that intrigued her. Back then, everything was fine.

She was pretty much over the horror that had been Bill since well before his Lilith days, and since Eric hadn't even once tried to contact her once he knew she was free, she figured why _not_ go out with a new guy?

He was tall and muscular, he said all the right words, and it was all sex, all the time. Who could ask for anything more, right?

When they found out she was pregnant, he had surprised her one evening with a small but respectable engagement ring, but the whole occasion had an obligatory feel to it that ruined any joy she might have felt. But, Steve Campbell was determined to be an honorable man, so she went with it.

The real problems began when the pregnancy started to show. His consulting business required him to travel some, and before the pregnancy, when he returned home from one of his trips a sex-fest was almost guaranteed. That was the real reason she had quit waitressing – Steve had demanded that she be available for him when he came home from his travels so they could 'have their time together', and her schedule just wasn't flexible enough to allow for that. At first she didn't mind; there were more than enough odd jobs needing to be done around the old farmhouse to keep her busy, and he made more than enough money so that they could afford it. But after a while she resented not having her own money and the feeling of independence a job gave her. Now she couldn't take a job if it was offered on a silver platter.

As soon as her body began to swell, however, things changed. His trips became more frequent and lasted longer, and when he _would_ return, more often than not he would be in a foul mood or there would be some other excuse to not have sex with her. Citing her "big fat baby gut," several months ago he had finally moved into one of the other bedrooms. By that time Sookie was glad. She put on a front to her friends but was absolutely miserable inside.

"It's funny how he gave such great foot and back rubs until I started needing them," she ended with a sniff.

"He sounds like a complete asshole," Willa agreed, her anger at the bad smelling man rising exponentially. She would bet money that he was whoring around on Sookie. "Have you thought about leaving him?" That seemed to be the only real course of action she could see for her friend.

"Yes," Sookie replied instantly, "all the fucking time, really. I'd love to just throw him out of here tonight! But I don't have any way of supporting myself. Hell, I don't even have a damn job!"

This time her tears were caused by anger and self-disgust rather than heartbreak.

Willa thought about the money that Eric had settled on her after he'd returned, and smiled a bit evilly. Fuck Steven fucking Campbell. She could have that smelly bastard out the door in a human's heartbeat.

"Sookie," she asked, her voice weighted with feeling. "Do you really want to get rid of that asshole _tonight_? I mean, is that what you _really_ want to do?"

Her friend stared back at her, worried but now slightly confused brown eyes meeting her own calm, thoughtful expression.

Sookie then closed her eyes and gave serious consideration to Willa's question. After a few minutes, she nodded firmly.

Enough was enough.

**~•0•~**

Even as the moon abandoned him to slowly make way for the sun, still Eric reclined on his cheap lawn chair, his eyes slowly becoming accustomed once again to the light of false dawn. He checked his watch which revealed what his blood already knew – he had managed to stay out almost 30 seconds longer this morning.

Eventually, however, self-preservation forced him up, and with heavy steps and drooping shoulders he headed toward the secret room in the basement of Fangtasia. Granted it was fire-proof with its own sprinkler and ventilation systems, and was decked out in the finest that Pam could buy, but it was still just a room…just a place to die yet again for yet another day.

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****A/N: Ok, dearest readers, what did you think? Remember – Sookie's smarter than she was, but still…****


	3. Chapter 3

Late the next afternoon Sookie snuggled into the best pillow to ever cradle her cheek before her aching back demanded a stretch…and then the beloved little demon in her womb decided to play soccer with her bladder. With a grumph and a huff she finally managed to extricate herself from the surprisingly comfortable bed and waddled her way to the bathroom.

After answering nature's call, she shuffled over to the sink to wash her hands and winced at the sight of her swollen black eye and split lip in the mirror. All the memories came rushing back followed by a strong kick from within. Sincerely glad that the baby whose sex she had chosen not to know seemed to be fine, she smiled down at the detectable movement as she thought back over the previous night.

For someone no longer attracted to her and who rarely voluntarily spent time with her, Steve sure hadn't taken the break-up as well as she and Willa had hoped.

Sookie had tried to handle the break-up with class. She'd politely asked Steve to come in the house and talk with her, but he couldn't be bothered. He'd rolled his eyes and said that he'd be there in a minute, then dug right back into the heaping pile of food on his plate after laughing at something Sam had said.

That was when Fairy Sookie decided that she'd had enough. _She_ hadn't been the one to invite _anyone_ over to stuff Thanksgiving down their throats at her house. _She_ hadn't willingly volunteered to cook and bake for days on end to prepare the feast so that Steve fucking Campbell could look like lord of _her_ manor.

Human Sookie had started shushing Fairy Sookie not too long after Bill had died. She liked that side of herself, but that side of her personality just didn't fit in with her friends after all, so she had tried to "let her out to play" less and less. After a while she had become accustomed to bending over backward trying to please people she'd long thought of as her friends and, while some did genuinely care for her, when it came down to it, they all had lives and interests of their own…lives and interests that didn't necessarily include her.

They'd all been happy for her when she turned up pregnant – just her luck to be one of those women who got pregnant while on the pill – because it suited what _they_ thought she should want, and while it had been nice feeling their love and warmth, still, it hadn't lasted long. They all had lives and interests of their _own_, after all.

Once again everyone had fallen back into their own little spheres leaving her alone with her unborn child and steadily worsening relationship. Calls were still usually returned the next day, or the day after, but planned visits and lunch dates were canceled at the last minute or not made at all.

She had been furious when Steve had announced just four days ago that he'd invited all her friends – well, all the people _he_ thought she should be friends with – over for a Thanksgiving _day_ dinner. After yelling at him for not only inviting people over to her house without asking her in the first place but also for springing this on her at the last minute – turkeys take forever to thaw – she had called everyone and told them that it was being rescheduled for _after_ the sun went down so that her vampire friends could come, too. Steve's attempt at excluding her undead friends had backfired royally, but she was still miffed at herself. Her good manners had precluded just canceling the whole damn thing as she truly wanted to do.

Irate, disgusted, and her face still flushed and tear-stained from crying, as Sookie hauled her sore, aching, and roundly-pregnant self back down the steps, more and more memories of his little and not-so-little insults and proofs of his lack of true affection for her surfaced.

By the time she reached the others, Fairy Sookie was livid. She grabbed the pitcher of tea, and promptly dumped it over Steve's head, down his shirt, and into the plate of food that was obviously more important to him than she was.

"Have you got time for me now you self-centered conniving asshole?"

He looked stunned since he had never seen her so angry before, but she thought she saw something flash in his eyes briefly before he stood up to shake off as much tea as he could.

"What the fuck did you do that for?" He looked around at the numerous guests he'd invited over, and the ones he hadn't, and his face reddened in either anger or embarrassment.

Sookie didn't care which.

"All I asked you to do was come into the house for a minute, but nooo," she said, still brandishing the glass pitcher like a weapon. "No, you had to stay out here with all these people that _you_ invited to _my_ house without even bothering to ask _me_ if _I_ felt like cooking and baking for the past two damn days! What part of "I don't want to host Thanks-fucking-giving because I feel like _shit_" did you not understand two weeks ago, asshole? Now, do you want to do this out here or do you want to come back in the house?"

"Ugh, Sookie, why do you have to be such a fucking bitch all the damn time? They're your damn friends – I invited them for you!"

"Bull. Shit," she enunciated very clearly. "No only did you try to exclude my vampire friends, but you knew damn well that I did not want to have to deal with all this mess! Who did you think was going to do all the cooking and baking and cleaning and everything else? Sure as hell wasn't going to be you, now was it?"

Knowing that she was right, Steve took a couple of steps back and changed the subject.

"Well what the hell did you want to talk about, anyway?" The sweet tea was starting to dry into a sticky mess in his hair and down his shirt. She heard someone snicker when he tried to wipe his hands off on his jeans.

"You want to do this out here? Fine! I could not give a shit less." She struggled briefly with the ring before finally removing it from her slightly swollen finger, then tossed it to him.

Angry disbelief raced across his face as he let the ring bounce off his brawny chest and land on the ground in front of his dusty loafers.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, you dumbass bitch?" The redness on his face was definitely anger.

"I'm breaking the hell up with your ass and kicking you and it both out of _my_ house," she screamed back at him. Surely he could understand plain English!

"What the fuck? No, oh, no you're not," he ground out, obviously having a difficult time controlling his temper as his hands kept clenching and unclenching. "You ungrateful little slut! Not after all I've done for you!"

"What? Are you trying to say that you moved in on me without me ever asking you to _for_ me? Oh, or did you fuck around on me _for_ me? Is _that_ what you're trying to say?"

"What the fuck? What the hell did you do, listen in to my thoughts or something? You ought to know better than that shit – for all you know I'd just been thinking about it!"

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice that cheap whore perfume on you the last couple of times you dragged your sorry ass in? No, Steve, it's over and I want you out of my house."

A flash of something showed in his eyes again a split second before he headed toward her with his fist raised. As fast as Willa was, by the time she had Steve off her and shoved up against a nearby tree with Jessica's help, Sookie's eye and lip were already throbbing.

Thankfully Jason had finally decided to put down his turkey leg and made a big deal of handcuffing the bastard…after Willa and Jessica had pulled him off her, of course. Sookie rolled her eyes.

As she stood in the bathroom of the luxurious hotel suite holding a cold wet cloth to her eye, she thanked her deities once again for Willa's help, and Jessica's, too. After the confrontation, her nerves had started getting the best of her, and she had been more than glad to leave if only for the night.

She guessed her former engagement ring was still on the ground where it had landed, and shrugged. She wouldn't know. After Jason had hauled Steve off to the local jail, while everyone else taking up space at the Thanksgiving dinner had just sat and stared at the break-up drama, Willa had steered the trembling blonde toward her car while Jessica had glared at the so-called friends who were just sitting there with their mouths open.

After settling her in comfortably and making sure that the younger vampire would stay by her side, Willa had vamped back into the house to grab Sookie's purse and keys, and they'd left. Quicker than she'd ever thought possible during the silent drive, they arrived at the most expensive hotel in Shreveport. As the valet parked the car, Willa escorted Sookie to the elevator bank.

"I own half the floor just below the penthouse," she explained as they entered the elevator. "There are three other bedrooms, and they're all light-safe, but you can override the window controls with no problem. You can stay with me as long as you want, Sookie."

With a sniff, Sookie replied, "Thank you, Willa. I don't know what I'm going to do, but I'm sure glad to be here tonight." She withdrew a balled up tissue from her pocket and tried to stem the tears of frustration, heartbreak, and she didn't even know what all else.

Shaking her head, Willa countered after they had finally reached her floor. "I know exactly what you're going to do. You're going to keep growing that baby and you're going to get a good night's sleep, and you're not going to worry."

They quickly arrived at Willa's door, and after giving Sookie the security code, they entered one of the nicest hotel spaces the telepath had ever seen.

"How," she started to ask as she looked around in amazement, but stopped because she didn't want to be rude. The bank of windows on the opposite wall were uncovered to display a beautiful night view.

Willa simply laughed. "You know that Eric settled a lot of money on me after he finally returned, right?"

Sookie nodded then toddled over toward the kitchen for some water.

"Well, he gave me half of this floor, too." She started to tell Sookie that Pam had the other half…and that while Eric owned at least a dozen properties in the area, he also owned the entire top floor, but decided that maybe those tidbits ought to wait until another night. One thing at a time…

"So, you see? I don't have to worry one little bit about money or anything else, and so you shouldn't, either. You've been an amazing friend to me when I was really down and needed one. It's my turn to get to help you now."

"But…" Once again Sookie's pride warred with her common sense.

"No buts," she interrupted. "You wouldn't want to hurt my feelings, now, would you?" She grinned triumphantly, knowing that her friend would be hoisted on her own petard.

Sookie expelled a gust of air, rolled her eyes, and grinned. "Of course not."

"Good, that's settled. In a little while I'll call down to the concierge and have them go shopping for you some food and whatever else you need, so why don't you make a list as soon as I find you some paper and a pen? In the meantime, there's a room service menu around here somewhere…it came with the place," she said as she started looking for the menu she'd never actually used before.

An hour and a half later Sookie's belly was full and her lists were made, so Willa shooed her off to bed; the telepath's exhaustion was palpable, and she worried about how the stresses and events of the past couple of days would affect her and the baby.

Tucked into the warm comfortable king-sized bed, Sookie tried to carry on a polite conversation with Willa as the vampire went around the room checking to be sure that everything was up to standard. Since she was as much asleep as awake, some of her words were mumbled…but Willa clearly heard her say something that she not only understood, but that made chills go down her spine.

"Willa? I never told him I was telepathic."

The vampire thought frantically while remaining motionless in the chair beside Sookie's bed until the fairy-hybrid quickly fell asleep.

She knew what she wanted to do, and she had a pretty good idea of how Sookie felt about her Maker just as she had a pretty good idea about how he felt about her, too. But even if she was wrong – and she knew she wasn't: they were both nuts for staying apart – something was definitely rotten in the state of Denmark as it were, and this kind of thing was by far _his_ area of expertise.

Willa called Eric.

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****A/N: So, what did you think? Also, just breathe, my lovelies – Eric's fine, but he IS about to get quite a shock… Don't forget to drop by my site - addicted2godric dot wordpress dot com to see pretty banners and such!****


	4. Chapter 4

Eric rose that afternoon with rage and frustration running rampant through his veins along with something strangely akin to excitement. The anticipation of seeing his Sookie again was warming that place where he assumed his heart used to beat. After instinctively surveying his area for potential threats and finding none, his thoughts then immediately went to Sookie and the surprising call from Willa early that morning.

Although she probably wouldn't be able to tell exactly what he was sending or that _he_ was the one sending it in the first place, he sent another burst of extreme pride and appreciation to Willa.

Even though at her age she was still dead for the day, he smiled knowing that she would rise knowing of her Maker's approval. The gift of a Maker's particular kind of approval was something all vampires craved whether or not they recognized the need. He wished he had more reasons to send the same to Pam. It was tremendously satisfying as a Maker to be able to do such a thing for his progeny.

He supposed that really should make the time to tell Willa that even though he had released her, he hadn't _completely_ severed _all_ of a Maker's ties with her…or with Pam for that matter. Neither progeny knew about all aspects of the Maker/child bond, and he was quite frankly in no hurry to educate either one.

Whether they liked it or not, both were still _his_ progeny, and as such, he demanded the right to maintain the sort of contact with each that would allow him to know if either were ever harmed or in some sort of trouble. Just because he had been a shitty Maker to Willa so soon after Turning her didn't mean he was willing to neglect her now, and Pam would always need her Maker's support even if she would never admit it.

Frustrated that the sun was still too high in the sky to allow him to leave the confines of his quarters well-hidden on the other side of the basement of Fangtasia, he quickly checked his messages, showered, and then paced like a caged animal as he contemplated Willa's informative yet disjointed message.

As per his usual now-damn'd habit these nights, he had turned off his phone several hours before the sun rose. He enjoyed his solitude and didn't wish to have to deal with whatever manufactured "emergency" his underlings decided to foist on him instead of solving for themselves. That's why they got the big bucks, he had stated more than once to Pam and her dismay – she was his primary assistant, of course.

However, being the businessman and reluctant semi-politician that he was, he also made a point of checking his messages before retiring for the day just in case there had been an _actual_ emergency that needed his approval or final vote.

After weeding through several messages from his accountant, a couple of his brokers, and one wrong number, he had been surprised to hear Willa's voice.

"Eric? It's me, Willa. I think something weird is going on and I don't know what to do, but you would, so I'm calling you."

His eyebrows rose as he wondered why her whispered vamp-speed speech sounded slightly nervous, but put it down to their still strained but improving relationship.

"Um, I don't know if you know this or not, I mean, knowing you, you might, but I've been, um, friendswithSookieforawhilenow," her voice waivered as she crowded the words together. Even through his shock he still managed to appreciate how Willa sounded as if she were confessing something to a parent, and he went as still as only a vampire could.

_Willa was friends with Sookie? __**His**__ Sookie? Since when?_

"At first it was just because I was lonely and bored and she was really nice, you know? Well, of course you know. But anyway, we got close. Ok, um, so I'm sure you know this but she started seeing this guy Steve a while back, and I never trusted him. You did know she was seeing some guy named Steve Campbell, right? I mean, you know _everything_ that goes on," she laughed nervously into the phone.

_Of course_ he knew that Sookie had been seeing someone named Steve Campbell…and that she had gotten pregnant…and that she quit her job…and that she was engaged to the motherfucker as well. While he had tried to stay away from anything having to do with her life because it hurt too much knowing these things and not being able to… But just because he had tried to stay away didn't mean he couldn't keep basic tabs on her anyway…

_Wait…__**Was**__? __**Was**__ seeing? Past tense?_

The sudden continuance of his child's voice refocused his attention.

"Well, even after he proposed to her I still didn't completely trust him, so I hung around even though it was obvious that he didn't want me there and I kept kind of an eye on him. I'm really glad that I did now," she paused as if contemplating her upcoming words.

"I don't know exactly what happened between you and Sookie but there's something weird going on here now and I thought you should know and you might be able to help us figure out what it is."

Eric mentally cursed Willa's tendency to ramble on – something was apparently happening and he needed to know what it was _now_!

"Steve was never all that good to her, but tonight he was _horrible_. Sookie had finally had enough of him so she broke up with him, and he hit her! I slammed him against a tree and me and Jessica held him there until Jason finally put his turkey leg down and came over and hauled him off to jail. He and Lafayette and Sam and everybody else just sat there at that huge table and watched the drama and didn't do anything when Steve was yelling at her and hitting her and she's almost nine months' pregnant and nobody but me and Jessica did anything," she whisper-shouted, her mouth so close to the phone that he could almost hear her fangs descending.

_His_ reaction was instant. He straightened to his full height, and certainly felt his own fangs descending forcefully, aching to rip into this son of a bitch who would dare lay a hand on _his_ Sookie! The deep, low growls he couldn't stop thankfully didn't interfere with his hearing.

"Sookie'shereinmyapartmentwithmenowandIdon'tknowwhattodo. Oh, and she never told him that she could read minds but somehow he knew. Call me back. Bye."

Eric thanked whatever deities who might be listening for his progeny's quick thinking – Sookie would certainly be much, much safer in Willa's apartment than in that old run-down farmhouse out in the middle of no fucking where.

Then he cursed.

He cursed that soon-to-be-dead fucker Steve fucking Campbell.

He cursed her so-called friends for allowing that jerk-off to get close enough to hit her.

He cursed himself for having turned off the ringer to his phone.

He cursed the sun for rising and preventing him from leaving his elaborately furnished quarters under Fangfuckingtasia.

Unable to stand the confines of the serene and luxurious environment another moment, he strode back into the basement portion of the vast subterranean complex beneath the strip mall he now owned, and resumed his pacing.

"What the fuck kind of asshole hurts an innocent woman, much less a pregnant woman," he snarled to the dark and grimy room.

Furious with himself and the situation, with a roar that rattled the bar glasses above he vented his frustrations on the assorted detainment and torture equipment scattered about the basement until his wrath was spent and little remained but the walls and various piles of rubble.

_Oh, well,_ he thought as he surveyed his handiwork then watched the split skin over his knuckles heal._ Pam has been wanting to redo the basement. Maybe now she'll stop pouting over letting Sarah go._

Breathing hard despite the lack of need for such an activity, he sat down heavily on the lower portion of the stairway with his elbows on his knees.

He felt like such a fool. If he'd had half a brain, he'd have contacted Sookie on some pretext or other. He'd have called her…gone by to see her, something…

But he hadn't. His pride and what had been left of his heart hadn't let him. He'd thought…but then when she'd chosen fucking Compton yet again…

_Fuck_.

With a sigh of mental exhaustion and physical frustration, he rose and went back to his quarters. After securing them for the day, he turned his phone's ringer _on and _grabbed his laptop. He fired off several emails, one of which went to his _private_ investigations company.

Just because he was the founder of New Blood didn't preclude him from investing in, and starting up, quite a few other very profitable, and convenient, businesses.

Before now, he hadn't investigated _too_ deeply into this Steve fucking Campbell because he'd tried to stay out of Sookie's life after that last time she had made it clear that Compton came first.

Those nights were now over.

His team should just now have started investigating the fuck out of that asshole, and said asshole _needed_ to enjoy the shit out of whatever time he had left on this planet because the second Eric got his large, strong hands on his body…

Finally feeling the sun's pull, Eric had reluctantly allowed himself to go to bed, but it was well over an hour before his anger and frustration had eased enough to allow his dayrest to claim him.

As he now waited for the sun to finally dip far enough below the horizon to allow him safe passage to his penthouse apartment, he called the team tasked with researching this Campbell fuck-up for a progress report, then cancelled all meetings for the rest of the week. Somehow he was quite sure dealing with his Sookie's problems would be much more invigorating than dealing with ESPN, CNN, HSN and the NYSE combined. Pam could hawk the New Blood key chains and baubles and talk inane bullshit almost as well as he could.

The instant his instincts told him it was almost safe enough to leave, he was out of Fangtasia and into his modified 'Vette with the light-safe "vamp-tinted" windows. Within minutes he was parked in the underground parking area he had installed beside the hotel when he'd purchased the old building.

As he entered the well-lit tunnel connecting the parking area with the hotel, he decided against going to his own apartment first. Despite Pam's best efforts, he still saw nothing wrong with his snug black t-shirt, well-fitting jeans, and black leather boots.

Just as the sun finally set for the night, he approached Willa's admittedly overly-secured suite and paused before the door. A deep inhalation proved what his gut already told him – his Sookie was indeed mere feet away.

Blood bond or not, he could have sworn that he still _felt_ her even after all this time.

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****A/N: Feeling better about Eric now? So…what'd ja think?****


	5. Chapter 5

As he stood at the door to Willa's suite, the centuries of being on guard ingrained in his psyche made Eric listen closely instead of impatiently knocking or even just going on in as any ordinary mortal would do in that situation. He knew that his progeny would not have risen yet, not at her young age, but a cursory listening with his enhanced vampire hearing didn't detect any of the noises associated with human movement, either. Focusing even more intently, however, he did hear two heartbeats, one slowed as though asleep, the other, much, much fainter.

That second tiny heartbeat made his chest feel odd.

Knowing that it would be past full dark until his progeny rose, with a shake of his head Eric used his master code to let himself into the cool, still suite. He couldn't force himself to wait another moment.

Once inside the main living area, the full power of Sookie's pregnancy-enhanced scent hit him hard. His body already primed for action by anticipation and the need for vengeance, his reaction was immediate, and he took a long moment to subdue his fangs and the primal urges surging through his system.

Finally able to think with a cooler head while valiantly ignoring his swelling need – it had been far too long since he had inhaled her luscious scent – and warming heart, he found his feet leading him unerringly to the room where she apparently slept peacefully.

En route, he paused here and there to turn on some lamps to illuminate the large tastefully decorated living room. For some inane reason he didn't like the idea of Sookie waking to darkness.

When he reached the half-open door to her bedroom, he paused. He knew that if he had still been human, his heart would be jumping out of his chest and his palms would undoubtedly be a sweaty mess. Ruefully he decided that he was handling this worse than a teenage boy.

For so long, far too long, he had imagined the different ways the Fates would bring her back into his unlife had they an ounce of kindness amongst them. Perhaps he would accidentally run into her at a store somewhere, or maybe she would just call him up unexpectedly and tell him that she missed him.

He mentally chuckled at the sad absurdity of that one.

Maybe she would come to visit him and tell him that she'd made a mistake, that living a "normal life" had not been what she really wanted after all.

No matter how badly he wanted to mock that dream, he still couldn't, not even when standing outside her door.

Maybe one night in among the bills, statements, and charity requests there would be a letter from her in his mail…

He sighed as he crammed his hands in his pockets.

_Never_ would he have thought that she would come back into his life pregnant and with an abusive soon-to-be-dead ex-fiancé.

But it didn't matter, not really. He would take her any way she would have him.

His ego felt like it should protest this knowledge, but it didn't even bother. While in the past she had been unreasoning and quite unable to see beyond the minute scope of her raising and the expectations ingrained on her from an early age – not to mention being understandably unable to fight off the foul, malignant effects of fucking Compton's blood, he knew that in the past his own prideful ways and inability to effectively _'communicate'_, as Pam called it, had caused much of his own downfall.

_Pride goeth before a fall, and I'm a tall motherfucker_, he thought sardonically. He bid a mocking adieu to whatever remained of his heart.

With a hand that trembled only slightly, he pushed the door open wider and, finally, he saw the curled up form of his sleeping beauty.

Her back was to the door as she rested atop the covers on the large bed, her long blonde hair flowing across the pillow. She had covered herself with a throw which, judging by how she was curled up into herself, wasn't quite warm enough.

Knowing that the Were housekeeping service he employed for the top two floors of this hotel would store like items in the same places in all the apartments, he silently walked over to the linen storage cabinet in the mid-sized room that was the closet and withdrew a soft blanket.

He turned around toward her bed, and beheld his first look at her lovely face in far too many years. It was all he could do to stifle the automatic hiss when he saw her injuries and his semi-retracted fangs erupted once more. His stomach clenched in fury at the damage to her eye and lip, their swelling and bruised coloring an abomination next to the beauty of her face. A growl too low for a human to hear escaped no matter how hard he tried to subdue it.

It took everything in him to keep from nicking his finger and… The thought was much too tempting for him to risk further contemplation. His gaze then fell to her swollen abdomen, clearly detectable beneath the thin throw, and a confusing storm of emotions overtook his poor heart at the sight.

Resolutely raising his eyes back to her face, he lightly ghosted the covering over her, then drew a nearby chair closer to the bed. As he sat down and stretched his long legs out before him, he noticed that Willa's scent was strong in the chair. A powerful image of his progeny keeping vigil over the sleeping woman in the bed floated through his mind.

His pride as her Maker increased exponentially as did his vow to do even better by the lady who was more honest and caring than he'd realized. While Pam and Willa were both loyal, Pam's strength rested in her ability to think and act with her mind; Willa's strength came from her ability to think and act with her heart.

The barely-detectable sigh from his gravid angel as she relaxed into the new warmth _he_ had provided softened his gaze even if the sight of her injuries pierced his heart.

He once again thanked the deities for Willa… He would reward his youngest progeny a thousand times over. Had she not been there…

Said progeny silently rose for the night at that moment, and immediately identified both Sookie and Eric's scents, and was curious as to why she didn't feel angry about her Maker letting himself into her suite. Well, I did call him, and he is my Maker, she thought. She refused to admit that she felt immensely better knowing that he was there.

Figuring that she would deal with it later, she immediately went into the kitchen and warmed herself two bags of donor blood, and not very begrudgingly warmed Eric a bag, too. Sookie's scent was tasty on a good night, but now that she was pregnant, her scent was mouthwatering to an extreme, almost painful, degree. Willa wasn't taking any chances.

After quickly downing her two bags and setting out two more, she quietly approached Sookie's room and without looking at him, gave Eric the other warmed bag. While she no longer hated the vampire who had Turned her, especially since she had willingly chosen to be Changed, she wasn't sure she especially liked him, either. Well, she did, but then again, she didn't. It was so confusing.

But she did respect him, and freely acknowledged that he was trying to make up for the mistakes he'd made with her…and that she was willing to let him.

Eric was surprised when his child had handed him a warmed bag of blood. He'd of course heard her rise and go immediately to the kitchen to feed – a precaution he heartily approved of considering Sookie's enhanced scent and Willa's youth – but had not expected the courtesy of a bag for himself.

He drained the bag quickly, and made a mental note to start restocking his own kitchens with donor bags. If he was going to be spending any amount of time in Sookie's presence, and he refused to consider doing otherwise, then he would need the additional satiation provided by human blood.

New Blood was good, he had to admit, by far better than True Blood had ever tried to be, but it provided no real satisfaction, no true feeling of fullness.

At least the _real_ Sarah Cure had made worrying about infection irrelevant – he'd made sure that Willa had been inoculated as well as a few others in his retinue. Pam, naturally, had seen to her own survival.

Maker and child remained quiet as they silently regarded the woman sleeping atop the bed. Willa wondered at the expression on Eric's normally inscrutable face. She'd known of course of his fascination with the fairy hybrid, but didn't really know their story. The few times she'd tried to broach the subject with Sookie, she had been very kindly shut down while the conversation had remained on more general stories about her Maker.

_Well, maybe now they can get it sorted out, _she thought to herself. _Maybe all they really need is just some time and conversation._

Awkwardly but with comfort in mind, she patted Eric's shoulder twice, took the empty bag from his hand, and went back to the kitchen.

Grateful for the privacy, Eric withdrew his phone, turned the ringer off, then put it back in his pocket. While he didn't know much at all about pregnant women from his human days, he did know that they needed rest, and he didn't want his phone to wake her, especially since this was the first time he had been able to simply watch her as she slept. Well, this was the first time that he was in his right mind when he did so.

As he gazed at her face, he considered what else she might need. He knew that breeding females also needed red meat and lots of other foods, and that they sometimes ate strange things. His eyes fell to the now less-discernable bulge of her stomach, and he thought about how very uncomfortable carrying that around must be.

_She probably waddles,_ he thought with a sad smile.

He wished he could have been there when she first realized that she was with child. He would have loved to have seen the expression of wonder and amazement on her face as she realized that she was carrying a new life within the safety of her own body.

When he had initially been notified of her pregnancy, his first instinct had been to go and buy every book he could find about it…nay, his eyes narrowed as he corrected his own thinking.

His _first_ instinct had been to painfully end the man responsible, take her into his care and protection, and _then_ go and buy all the books he could find.

His fists clenched. He _knew_ he should have listened to his first instincts.

A little more than an hour later she started to fidget in her sleep, then with a whimper she stretched out more fully. He watched with an adoring gaze as she rubbed her cheek over her pillow then had a real stretch.

When she slowly opened her eyes, her gaze seemed to immediately find him, and her eyes grew huge in surprise. She blinked a few times, then a beatific smile brightened her entire face.

"Am I dreaming again, or are you real this time?"

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****A/N: Thoughts?****


	6. Chapter 6

****A/N: Blame for the lateness of _this_ chapter rests entirely upon the fact that nothing felt…right. Finally it dawned on me what the problem between them really was…Eric is tired of being a lapdog.****

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Momentarily lost in Sookie's radiant gaze, slowly Eric shook his head to clear away the glee of knowing that she'd dreamt of him during their unfortunate separation. But…

Suddenly, it all came crashing down. Carefully schooling his face into neutrality, he stared back at her as he thought.

She wasn't here for _him_.

She wasn't here because she had _chosen_ _him_, or because she had _missed_ _him_.

She was only in his sphere because, yet again, she had been treated poorly by some male she had, once again, chosen _over_ him. Except for when he had traveled for business, he had been in Shreveport this entire time. At any point she could have come to him, called him…hell, at any point during these last long, interminable years, she could have… But during all that time, he had heard nothing from her.

Nothing.

He could feel his heart, that raw, inflamed non-beating organ in his chest, hardening at the realization. As much as he loved her, as much as he needed her to be alive and well and in his arms, he couldn't allow her any closer.

His heart's sanity couldn't take yet another rejection…couldn't take being passed over for someone, anyone, yet again.

And with her track record, it was all but inevitable.

He had never been enough for her. No matter his history, his power, his wealth, his abilities…no matter that he had been willing to risk his own existence for her time and time again…he had never been enough for her before, so why would he be now?

Slowly the joy dimmed from Sookie's bright and shining gaze as she realized that Eric wasn't quite as thrilled to see her as she had been to see him.

As much as it hurt seeing that light fade from her eyes, he knew it had to be done. He simply could not risk being her lapdog yet again. He would help her, he would support her and her impending child, and he would delve into the problems caused by yet another man she had chosen over him – of course he would. He loved her and always would.

She just didn't need to know that.

Not wanting to be cruel or too cold to the pregnant telepath now ungainly trying to sit up on the side of the bed, he kept his voice cool even though he was livid over the bruising still painfully evident on her face.

"Are you well? I can have Dr. Ludwig here in a matter of minutes if you need her assistance." He kept his hands firmly clasp across his stomach as he resisted the almost overwhelming urge to reach for her…to help her…to draw her into his lap and heal her injuries and never let her go.

Eyes now suspiciously wet – a sight that immediately drove him from his chair to stare out the window since he never could stand the sight of her tears – Sookie replied quietly, her voice shaking slightly, "I'm ok. Sore, but I'm ok."

An awkward silence followed during which Eric found his own hands shaking as he crammed them into his pockets. Finally he heard a grunt and a huff and, via the window's reflection, he saw her rising slowly from the bedside.

"I'll be…back," she murmured, her head lowered and her shoulders slumped as she ambled toward the bathroom.

His face frozen while he was cursing, fuming, and screaming inside, Eric grit his teeth as he forced his gaze up from the floor where it had fallen upon seeing the defeated posture of the woman he loved. He railed at himself for being the one to cause such dejection, but knew he had to stand tall and hold his ground.

She was an addiction…an addiction who had not chosen him…an addiction he had to steel himself against or risk losing everything this time around.

A little while later after apparently having gathered herself together, Sookie emerged from the bathroom looking a little better, although the redness around her eyes tore at him. Instead of returning to the bed, she headed toward the bedroom door.

"I'm going to get something to drink, and I need to eat, too," was all she said before leaving the room.

Eric nodded his head, then withdrew his phone. After turning the ringer back on, he checked his messages, and found one from the lead investigator.

After listening to the message and returning the call, he went to the kitchen and found Sookie sitting at the formerly unused kitchen table while Willa cooked something on the stove.

The sight of his youngest Child cooking caused him to blurt out, "You can cook?"

Willa, all too aware of the tension between her Maker and her friend with the reddened eyes, decided to try to relieve some of the awkwardness.

"Yep, and I can dance and sing, too," she quipped as she turned the eggs in one pan and the bacon in the other.

Appreciating her attempt to lighten the stifling atmosphere, Eric and Sookie both gave a short obligatory laugh…which was followed by a weighted silence.

Soon enough Willa slid the plate of bacon, eggs, and toast over to Sookie, who began to eat more out of habit than any actual hunger. Eric's cool attitude had been a big surprise, but then, she realized that she really shouldn't have _been_ surprised. It'd been _how_ long since she'd last seen him?

She hoped that he didn't think he _had_ to take care of her, that he felt obligated to do anything. This was her mess and, with Willa's help, she was determined to deal with it herself. She needed to see about finding a lawyer, but at least she didn't have to worry about finding a divorce attorney.

Suddenly queasy, she shoved the plate away and reached for her juice. At Willa's raised brows – the vampire knew how much she generally ate at a sitting – she just shook her head and rubbed the side of her stomach which was moving as the baby kicked.

Noting every minute movement in their byplay, Eric correctly determined that Sookie normally ate more than she just had, and correctly assumed that recent events had affected her appetite. Perhaps he should contact the doctor anyway…the damages to her face were irritating the everloving fuck out of him.

Willa saw Eric trying not to stare at Sookie, the longing in his eyes very badly hidden; she saw the way Sookie was trying not to stare at Eric, her own longing also very badly hidden, and snorted to herself at the way their gaze would flee from the other's when they would accidentally meet.

This would never do – and she wasn't a Southern Belle who knew quite a bit about vampires for nothin'. Hiding a crafty look behind concerned innocence as she peered into the blonde's abused face, she spoke sweetly.

"Sookie, that lip still looks painful and your eye is far too swollen to be comfortable. You know vampire blood heals, right? Would you take some of mine so you can…"

_"No!"_ Eric's voice thundered throughout the apartment and he stood so quickly that his chair dented the kitchen wall where it hit. He could stop neither the growl nor the dropping of his fangs as he instinctively leaned toward Willa.

Regardless of self-preservation, emotional sanity, or any form of pride, the blood of _no_ other vampire would sing in his Sookie's veins.

_Sookie was his._

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****A/N: Can y'all see where he's coming from, why he's not wanting to become more emotionally involved with Sookie…even if he's not going to let another vampire – even his Child – give her their blood? :D Thoughts?****


	7. Chapter 7

"Mine."

Seething, snarling, and towering over the table, Eric couldn't believe what his own Child had just suggested – how _dare_ she! Sookie was _his_!

_Fuck if he was going to let her…_

There was no way in hell he was letting another vampire get their blood into his Sookie.

Even through the pounding of his fangs and the tensing of his muscles aching to spring at the threat to the sanctity of his fairy-hybrid's blood, he still detected a niggling sense of betrayal that his own progeny would even _think_ of doing such a thing. It could be excused, even lauded, if Sookie's injuries had been life-threatening and he wasn't around, but not only were her injuries technically minor, but he was_ standing right_ _there!_

Not being one to cower even from a vampire well over a thousand years older than herself, Willa had automatically risen from her seat at the inherent threat from Eric – her vampire instincts and the innate bravery carried over from her human days had demanded it. She wasn't even aware that she was snarling or that her own fangs had descended – all her attention was focused on the furious Viking seconds away from removing her head.

With a livid, growling, fang-bearing Eric on one side of her and a reactive snarling fang-bearing Willa on the other, Sookie did the only thing she could to ease the sudden tension filling the kitchen.

She didn't cry. She wasn't worried. She wasn't even afraid.

Sookie was pissed.

As a slight case of pregnancy rage overtook her already-taxed emotions, she stood up and slammed her palms down on the table so hard it made her hands sting.

"_Enough! Damn! _This is too crazy for words! Eric, put your fangs up and sit your ass down. And stop with the growling! Willa, honey, you do the same. Y'all are family and it's high time you started acting like it, and growling and snarling at each other is not the way to do it, either!"

Shocked at her outburst, Eric relaxed his stance and sheathed his fangs, but remained standing at attention. He resented Sookie's tone and words, but did appreciate not having to attack his own Child. He settled on staring hard at the blonde telepath instead as he ground his teeth.

It ate at him that his resolve to remain unemotionally involved with her had lasted all of, what, maybe an hour at the most?

_Fuck._

He couldn't believe himself. Raising a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, he had to wonder if he was destined to _always_ be this pathetic over her. Maybe Pam was right all along about Sookie being his elemental weakness, the Achilles' heel to his existence. It was starting to look that way.

But then again, that resolution had been made _before_ he'd received the update… Exactly how was he supposed to pretend that he didn't worry about the keeper of his heart, the one whose existence ensured his own?

Willa gladly took the chance to retake her seat, both chagrined and proud of her instinctive behavior; although she was very relieved to _not_ be attacked by her Maker. She knew she wouldn't have any chance in hell of winning, but she'd certainly try her best. She might be a Burrell, but she was her mama's daughter, too.

She was also very glad to see Sookie's temper finally coming back. "Defeated" Sookie was made of sterner stuff than that and needed to go.

"Now then, that's better at least. I am not a bone and I do not appreciate being made to feel like one. Eric, what would it matter to you if Willa _did_ heal me with her blood? You've acted like we were all-but strangers since I woke up this evening…then _that_ happened. I was thrilled to see you when I first woke up, but…never mind. I don't know what's going on, but I really don't see the big deal with the blood. Willa, I appreciate your offer, but honestly, I'm fine. Besides, we need to get some pictures of my face as it is just in case there's a trial, don't we? We'll have to use your phone, though. My battery's dead and I don't have my charger."

Willa nodded and grabbed her phone quickly. Her nerves were still unsettled with little "damn, that was close" tingles still running up and down her spine, and she was glad to have something normal to do – well, if "normal" included taking pictures of the results of domestic violence…

She highly suspected that Eric would be giving the telepath his blood before the night's end regardless of what she'd said, especially given the way he had narrowed his eyes at her words. Privately, she was rather proud of her friend for calling out her Maker for blowing hot and cold, even if she couldn't quite blame him, either. Apparently things between them had been even more complicated than she'd thought.

"Good idea, Sook. Come over here and stand against this wall. It's plain so it'd make a good background."

When Sookie moved, she felt the baby start to move, too, but went over to the wall and leaned back against it anyway to get the proof pictures taken. As they worked, she couldn't help but notice that every time Willa had her tilt her head a different way for yet another shot, Eric's face would harden just a bit more until he finally looked away.

_What is going on with him, _she wondered as she excused herself to go to the bathroom now that she was fairly sure they wouldn't kill each other in her absence._ That was really odd. Why _would _he care if Willa gave me her blood? At least she offered… Well, he did offer to call a doctor for me, so I can't complain. But hell, he's been acting strange ever since I woke up. _

Figuring she had hidden out in the bathroom as long as she could, she continued her inner monologue as she washed and dried her hands and slowly waddled back toward the kitchen.

_It's been years since I saw him last, so I guess he could have changed, and maybe he has, but in a way it doesn't really feel like he has. But…still. He acts like he doesn't care, not really, but then he does. Maybe he does still care, but doesn't want me to know? But why? It's not like he ever returned…_

Suddenly she stopped near the table and gasped as a kick broke her train of thought. She grabbed her abdomen instinctively and started rubbing the scene of the internal soccer move.

"Sookie?" Eric spoke for the first time since the incident, his voice somehow managing to sound both clipped and concerned. He was by her side in an instant.

"It's nothing. The baby's kicking is all…oof!" Her words ended on a slight gasp as she felt another kick follow the first one, this one especially hard.

Before she could even blink, Eric had one arm about her waist holding her steady as he grabbed a chair and pulled it over with his other. He helped her to sit down and then knelt by her side. The worry evident on his face gave her more hope than anything else had that evening.

"Wow she's active tonight," she said with a wince. "I think she's trying to swim in there." The kid had no respect for internal spaces.

"She? It…it's a girl child?" Eric's face and voice reflected his awe as he asked the question.

Sookie nodded, a shy smile gracing her face as she gazed over into his surprisingly happy blue eyes and unguarded expression. _There_ was the Eric she knew…and loved.

"I'd asked not to be told the sex of the baby since I wanted it to be a surprise, but I know she's a girl. I just…_know_. Maybe it's a fairy thing," she trailed off with a shrug. She truly couldn't explain how she knew; she just did.

The baby chose that moment to stretch, and, feeling very brave, Sookie grabbed Eric's hand and placed it over the moving lump.

He held himself stiff for a moment, then, with a strange lack of defiance he let the rest of his resolve melt away into the enigma that was Sookie, and slowly, gently, stroked his long fingers over the mobile bulge in her abdomen.

_A daughter…_

A moment later he lowered his ear toward her baby bump, and sighed as Sookie placed her hand on his hair and lightly eased his head onto her stomach.

When she started threading her fingers through his hair, he closed his eyes against the almost painful prick of the tears he did not wish to fall. Between the comforting sound of the child's rapid heartbeat and the feeling of his Sookie stroking her fingers through his hair…he could have stayed in exactly that position for at least a century.

With the comfort of his nearness and the heart-warming sight of his handsome face looking up at her as he pressed his ear against her stomach, Sookie allowed the peace of the moment to give her the courage to finally ask a question she had been dying to ask for years now.

"Eric, why didn't you ever call me back?"

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****A/N: Ok, so…you know how I said the drama/angsty part wouldn't last very long? There ya go – better now? What'd ja think?****


	8. Chapter 8

_"Eric, why didn't you ever call me back?"_

Kneeling beside Sookie with his ear to her abdomen while she slowly stroked her fingers through his hair and more content than he had been in years, Eric went still.

_What? What did she just…did she just ask…  
_

Her question tore through his brain at the hot speed of wishes he dared not express, but before he would risk his heart on vile, fickle hope yet again, he had to be utterly certain about what she'd said.

Far too much rested on her simple question to take _any_ chances.

After eliminating the Yakuza and "tidying up" a few hundred other things and while dealing with dear Sarah and the new synthetic blood, he and Pam had seen to the reparation then reopening of Fangtasia. Pam had been incessantly vocal against either one of them having anything at all to do with "that vermin-infested establishment", but Eric had refused to abandon the place, or more specifically, that location in Shreveport, LA.

He wanted Sookie to be able to find him, to reach him, _to call him_, if she ever wanted or needed to.

Eric ground his teeth and fought hard to keep his fangs retracted.

If what he thought he heard just now was true, there was only one possible explanation, one he dearly dreaded. No Maker could abide being betrayed by their own progeny in any way, and he had already tolerated more than enough…

"What did you say?" His voice was deathly quiet as his mind seethed with suspicion, shock, and no matter how he fought it, desperate hope.

The lovely fingers twirling through his hair stopped, and Sookie replied with a voice that trembled slightly, "I…I was wondering why you didn't ever call me back."

In the blink of an eye, Eric was on his feet before her with an arm on each side of her chair as he stared down into her wide eyes.

"When?"

The sudden intensity in Eric's eyes made Sookie's heart give an optimistic leap. He was acting as if he hadn't even known…

She was very confused by the way he was acting. The whole evening so far had rattled her as badly as Thanksgiving night had, but for far different reasons. Eric had run cold then hot, silent then snarling, standoffish then as tender as she could ever want…and now this?

"Sookie, _when_ did you call me? And _where_?"

His heart ached a bit at the uncertainty evident on her lovely face. He knew his actions had to have confused her, and he would gladly discuss things with her later…after he knew what the fuck was going on.

"Fangtasia, and it was about a month or so after Bill died. I left a message with Pam for you to call me back because I wanted…well, it doesn't really matter what I wanted, not now I don't guess. But…"

"Of course it matters," he growled.

_Of course it mattered! All this time… All this precious, wasted time… I will kill that fucking bitch…  
_

Eric abruptly stood and turned to pace the too-short length of the kitchen/dining area, his face hard and his movements sharp as he considered all the ramifications of one missed call.

He wanted to yell and demand that Sookie tell him everything _immediately_, but a glance at her weary face as well as consideration for her pregnant state stilled his voice if not his thoughts.

_She had called him!_

_Why?_

_What had she wanted? Had she needed him?_

_Why hadn't Pamela told him?  
_

_Had Sookie maybe missed him, too?_

Willa, having observed everything quietly from the kitchen, decided it was time for her to make herself scarce…after relieving some of the mounting tension, of course. _Preggos don't need too much stress all at once._

"Sookie, I'm going to run a few errands then I'm going to the store. What do you want me to pick up for you? Any weird cravings? You know I love when you have them."

Relieved to have a momentary break from what was sure to be a drama, Sookie laughed. Willa really did get a kick out of the weird combinations of foods that she craved.

"Ketchup, onions, sardines, and we already have eggs here, right?"

At the brunette vampire's nod, Sookie continued, "Ok, then add pistachio pudding and a can of SPAM, please. Oh, and some Cool Whip to go with the sardines!" She had to laugh at the expressions on both the vampires' faces.

With a mischievous grin, she added, "And orange sherbet, of course."

Willa had to laugh at that. Her blonde friend had been craving orange sherbet off and on for months. "What, no broccoli to go with it this time?"

Sookie nodded – it was a given. "Oh, yeah, definitely bring the broccoli, too."

After Willa left, Sookie decided that she'd be more comfortable reclining on a couch in the living room with her legs up, and Eric was immediately by her side helping the moment she started to stand. She couldn't help but compare this helpful, considerate Eric to the uncaring one from earlier that evening, but chose not to mention it.

_Yet_.

His mind still reeling and feeling grateful to his youngest Child for giving him time to spend alone with his Sookie, Eric did what he could to help settle his pregnant telepath in the living room.

Once he was sitting beside her with her swollen ankles in his lap so he could gently massage them, he asked, "So, you left a message with Pamela?" His voice was deceptively gentle, but if what Sookie was saying was true – and she had no reason to lie – Pamela was soon to be in a world of hurt.

"Yeah," Sookie answered, unhappy that her affirmation would probably get Pam in trouble, but not wanting to lie either. "I asked her to tell you that I'd called and that I wanted you to call me back, but you never did." It had never occurred to Sookie that Pam wouldn't deliver her message, but judging by Eric's reaction… _That fucking bitch!_

At that moment Eric knew that he would hold Pamela personally responsible for every single thing that had happened to his Sookie from the time of that call.

"I never received your message, Sookie. If I had, I certainly would have called you back. Actually I probably would have returned your call as I drove to your house that night. You know that, right?"

He _needed_ her to know that. His heart dropped at the doubt on her face.

"Sookie…" He paused to consider his words, then chose to simply speak the truth. In an instant he had Sookie pulled into his lap with her poor swollen feet still on the couch but now pointing in the opposite direction.

The unfamiliar weight and width of her gravid body felt both odd and comforting as he wrapped one arm about her back to hold her close.

"Sookie, look at me, please."

When she did, she gasped softly at the look of absolute adoration in his bright blue eyes.

"I can't do it anymore," he stated as he threaded his fingers through her hair. "I can't sit here and pretend that you're not my life, that you're not the magic that keeps me whole. Because you are. I have missed you so much…" he broke off to place a soft kiss on her temple. He rested his lips there while he inhaled deeply and savored her pregnancy-enhanced scent.

A few moments later Eric wrapped his other arm around her shoulders and pulled her even closer into his body as he remembered how cold and dark and bleak his nights had been without her.

"And to think that all this time…" He could no longer keep the anger from his voice.

A soft sniffling from the woman in his arms drew his attention, and he pulled back in horror when he smelled her tears.

He lifted her chin up and asked, his eyes large with dismay. "What is this? Sookie, I'm…"

Sookie roughly wiped the flow of tears off her face and gave a proper sniff before smiling timorously. "It's ok, Eric. These are happy tears. It…it sounds like you've missed me almost as much as I've missed you."

****A/N: You know your pretty words make me all happy and stuff, right? :D Hope you liked it! Oh, and you (also) know that I have a Wordpress site where I prefer to post, (also) right? It's addicted2godric dot wordpress dot com, and there's a viable link in my over-done profile for your clicking convenience. Come on over - the banners are fine!****


	9. Chapter 9

****A/N: So you may need a toothbrush and some toothpaste after this chapter…and maybe a hanky…and although I don't remember Eric ever calling Sookie "Lover" on TB, Imma use it here anyway cause I like it.****

"Missed you?" Eric's voice was just short of incredulous. He rearranged their position on the couch so that he and Sookie, who was still sitting on his lap, were facing each other a bit more. He had missed her face too much to not look at it every chance he could.

The decision to no longer fight his feelings for the lady in his lap gave Eric a curious sense of freedom. Now he was able to give voice to the intense love and passion he held for his Sookie without feeling as though he had to bite his tongue. With an even lighter heart, he spoke the words he wished he could have spoken so long ago.

"Sookie, I have _wanted_ you since that first night I met you. I have been _falling in_ _love_ with you since that first night I met you, and" he paused to cup her cheek in the palm of his hand, "I have _needed_ you since that first night I met you." His eyes almost glowed with the strength of his emotions.

"_Of course_ I have missed you. For the longest time now I've simply been going through the motions. Yes, I've been busy with the businesses, especially so just after…we routed the Yakuza," he said, abruptly changing his words. His eyes darkened for a moment as he thought about the pain his Sookie must have felt over fucking Compton's cowardly death. _That one died as he lived – determined to wring every ounce of useless angst and unnecessary drama he could from those he supposedly loved._

He hated thinking about those times, and not just because of her pain, but because once again she had chosen Compton over him, but no more. If she truly _had_ reached out to him, and he had no reason to doubt her word…

"But even so, of course I have missed you, Sookie. No matter how busy I was, no matter what fucking continent I was on, I never stopped caring about you, never stopped thinking about you."

Eric sighed as he took advantage of their position to place the lightest of kisses on her forehead near her hairline, then leaned back to meet her tear-filled gaze.

"Life without you has been…surprisingly empty," he smiled sadly. "Every night without you has been darker than the one before. No," he softly admonished when Sookie's lips started trembling and more tears spilled from her eyes. He quickly wiped the tears away – the damn things would always slash at his heart. "No crying, Lover. If I have my way, the time for tears is over."

Determined to be honest with the love of his unlife now secure in his arms, he took a steadying breath before assuring, "Never again doubt my feelings for you, Sookie. _Never again._ At first I did just lust for you," he grinned and wiggled his brows in a successful bid to make her laugh, "but that lust very quickly turned into a genuine liking, and by the time the events of Dallas had taken place, even I had to admit that you already owned a piece of my heart. But the way you stayed with Godric…the way you stood by him when I could not…" Eric broke off, his eyes brimming with red tears as he remembered the pain and heartbreak of that night

He remembered the consideration Sookie had shown to both himself and Godric when she had offered to stand with his Maker during his final moments on this Earth. Granted Godric had saved her from a horrible situation, but it was a kindness that Eric knew he himself hadn't deserved – especially after tricking her into taking his blood. Nothing he could do would ever be enough to repay her for that act of compassion toward his beloved Master.

But damn'd if he wouldn't try now that she might finally let him.

Eric cleared his throat and blinked away the evidence of his memories. "When you stayed with Godric during his final moments on this Earth, that sealed it for me. My whole world was reeling, but the one thing I _eventually_ took from that most horrible night was that I loved you, and that I always would."

Already close to emotional overload, the solemn tone of his voice, the fiery look in his eyes, the tender way he held her…it was too much for Sookie. Great gasping sobs worked their way up as she leaned fully into his broad chest and brought her hands up to cover her face, still sore from the slowly fading bruising.

"Shh…shh…shh…I've got you…I've got you," he whispered as he stroked his hand up and down her back. He tried hard to calm her tears, but to no avail. In fact, his attempts seemed to make it worse. Not only did he hate when she cried, but now he was also concerned about the baby daughter held sweetly within her body. Surely crying so hard wasn't good for either of his girls!

A vague memory suggesting that pregnant women were naturally more likely to have emotional outbursts wasn't very reassuring, but helped Eric to make a decision.

As if she weighed nothing, he scooped her up into his arms and took her back to her bedroom. He eased her down onto the bed, climbed in with her, then covered her with the comforter before taking her back into his arms. With a heartrending patience he hadn't known he possessed, he simply let her cry herself out in the comfort and security of his embrace, and allowed himself the solace of rubbing her back as best he could while quietly murmuring reassurances and sweet endearments into her ear.

Finally calming down to the occasional sniffle, Sookie rubbed her forehead along the soft cotton of his shirt as she breathed in his achingly familiar scent, and savored the feeling of his strong arms holding her close. She was vaguely surprised to find herself back in her bed, too emotionally overwrought before to notice the movement earlier, but had absolutely no intentions of leaving that small cocoon of very welcome comfort after suffering its absence for so many months and years.

The warmth of the soft bedding, the strong safety and support of Eric's arms after being without him for far too long, and the exhaustion that comes after a hard cry soon took their toll, and before long Sookie was sound asleep.

Eric sighed in relief as he felt the tension leave her tired body as she drifted off into her slumber, but he remained in place – he was exactly where he wanted to be with no desire whatsoever to leave his beloved's bed.

While he held his sleeping heart close, his mind raced. The problem of Steve fucking Campbell nagged at him and he had already mentally outlined what steps to take in that direction, but currently he focused on the problem of Pamela…fucking Pamela who was soon to have a very, very bad life. Every tear his Sookie had shed this night, and any other since the night of her call, was coming out of Pam's hide.

It took quite a few deep inhalations of Sookie's beloved scent before he could retract his fangs and think clearly once again.

He also needed to get his blood into Sookie to heal those damn bruises, but was unsure as to what effect it might have on the child growing within her. After all she'd been through, a visit with that troll of a doctor certainly wouldn't hurt, he decided, and she could surely answer his questions about the blood, too.

Decisions for their immediate future made, Eric minutely adjusted his hold on Sookie, and allowed himself to fully relax for the first time in recent memory.

* * *

****A/N: Well, I did say it was sweet… (In future chapters we'll learn more about why Sookie didn't repeatedly try to contact him…or did she? Guess you'll have to hang with me to find out, eh? And yes, I am giggling evilly.) So, what'd ja think? You know how I love your pretty, pretty words…**ALSO: A huge shout-out to several awesome Guests who left great reviews - thank you!****


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